REACH

BittWare recognizes that many of our customers have a legal requirement to conform to EU regulation no 1907/2006, REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), which became effective on June 1st, 2007.

BittWare customers and distributors outside the EU who are importing articles into the EU require SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) content information, to satisfy their end customer needs and avoid critical disruptions in their sales, and their customer’s supply chain.
BittWare pursues SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) content information including material declarations and full material disclosures for most products sold to Europe, through our partnership with SiliconExpert Technologies. REACH services can be expanded to cover additional products by contacting the BittWare sales team. The intent is to provide BittWare customers with the critical REACH information they need.
For additional details and limitations on our REACH service offerings please contact your BittWare Sales representative.

RoHS

BittWare designs new commercial products to be fully compliant with Directive 2002/95/EC ROHS.

BittWare and our supplier partners have considerable Pb-free manufacturing experience (RoHS 6 of 6 compliant assembly) using fully and formally qualified materials and manufacturing processes.
Several existing commercial BittWare products have converted over to full RoHS Pb-free 6 of 6 assembly as well.
Products designed as dual use for both the commercial and Defense/Aerospace industries are available in either Pb-Free 6 of 6 compliant, 5 of 6 compliant using SnPb alloys, or non-compliant SnPb formats depending on customer needs, and availability of SnPb area arrays. Re-balling options are also available as well as mixed assembly under very carefully controlled conditions.
Below is the list of standard product options related to Directive 2002/95/EC ROHS. As stated above, all product options may not be available for all products. Please contact BittWare sales for more details and availability.

Option 1: Configuration designation “6”. Will be Pb-Free.

This means full compliance to Directive 2002/95/EC ROHS 6 of 6 Pb-free. This will be the standard for most of our new products designed for commercial markets which include the EU.

Option 2: Configuration designation “5”. Will be 5 of 6.

This should be utilized for those customers who require RoHS compliance but have an exemption for Pb (Lead). It means the assembly will not contain 5 RoHS substances but does contain Lead (Pb). Directive 2002/95/EC ROHS 5 of 6.

Option 3: Configuration designation “P”. Will be SnPb.

This means that the assembly will be built using SnPb solder pastes and solder alloys, typically in a 63/37 ratio. This will be the default for many of our products. These boards may or may not contain Pb-free area arrays. If they do, they will be thermally profiled with a dedicated card and thermocouples attached using destructive techniques so that minimum soldering temperatures are verified.

Option 4: Configuration designation “D”. Will be SnPb with no Pb-Free Area Arrays.

This will be the standard for defense and aerospace customers of dual use products that restrict the use of Pb-free solder on area arrays. Boards will be built using SnPb solder pastes and solder alloys, typically in a 63/37 ratio. Any BGAs or Area Arrays on the BOM which are only available in Pb-free solder would need to be re-balled to comply with this option.

Option 5: Configuration designation “X”. Will be no preference.

This will mean the customer has no preference or no restrictions and BittWare can ship whatever is available to minimize customer lead time.

RoHS2, China RoHS, Other

Through our partnership with SiliconExpert Technologies, BittWare has access to an abundance of other critical sustainability information on components through their environmental page.

Please contact sales if these requirements or concerns affect you in order to understand applicability to BittWare products.RoHS2 – Refers to the new revision of the original RoHS Directive. Medical devices will be included in a staged manner. Several existing exemptions have been annulled and several new exemptions will be added.
China RoHS – Administrative Measure on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products (EIPs) came into effect for first step in March 1, 2007. It is also called ACPEIP or China RoHS.
ELV (End of Life Vehicles) – The ELV Directive (2000/53/EC) directly affects the automobile manufacturers of three and four wheel vehicles and their importers, direct suppliers, subcontractors and contract electronic and electrical manufacturers in the Member States of the EC. Its purpose is to reduce the waste in vehicles and encourage more recycling.
JIG (Joint Industry Guide) – Represents industry-wide consensus on the relevant materials and substances that must be disclosed by suppliers when those materials and substances are present in products and subparts that are incorporated into EEE.
Conflict Minerals – Refers to minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, notably in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The profits from the sale of these minerals finance continued fighting in the Second Congo War, and control of lucrative mines becomes a focus of the fighting as well.
ODC (Ozone Depleting Chemicals) – The list of substances banned by EPA used to describe various chemicals that deplete the ozone layer of our atmosphere.
PFOS – “Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), is a man-made fluorosurfactant. Fluorosurfactants, or fluorinated surfactants, are synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms. They can be polyfluorinated or fluorocarbon-based (perfluorinated). As surfactants, they are more effective at lowering the surface tension of water than comparable hydrocarbon surfactants.